Welding Tips and Tricks

G’day everyone,

So after all the excitement of enrolling into a welding course and dreaming of all the cool stuff ill weld in future and make etc, ive been reminded there are a few health and safety aspects about welding I need to think about.

Regarding gloves, jackets, sleeves etc, what does everyone wear? Do you ALWAYS cover your arms and as much skin as you can while welding or does it depend on the duration you’re welding for?

Regarding breathing in fumes, gas or anything else is on my mind. How do you avoid breathing in any dangerous gas?

Any health and safety aspects or tips welcome.

Cheers, Mick

Hey Mick.

Of course here in Oz Health and Safety is optional while shorts and flip-flops are standard...but not so good for welding. I had my eyes opened when a small part (aluminium tube) broke free of my setup a few weeks ago, rolled off the bench and dropped onto my wrist (I was wearing short Tig gloves). Much swearing, the smell of sizzling human and a second degree burn.

As a result I try always now to wear long sleeves...and long pants plus enclosed shoes. Needless to say our summers get hot and when you add the heat of welding it's tempting to dress light, but it's just not worth the risk.

On small Tig jobs I'm not currently wearing any breathing protection. When I stick weld I do it in a well ventilated area, usually outdoors. However I will be investing in a 3M respirator shortly as an added safety measure for all my welding.

I often set out just to weld for 20 minutes, get carried away and wind up welding for a longer session. With this in mind, nowadays I always do all I can to cover up to avoid both UV and contact burns.


Kym

Mick,
There's probably as many answers to that question as there are members here. You could Tig weld steel in nothing more than a helmet ( not a great mental picture). Stick overhead with a 6010 laying in a muddy ditch and you'll want a leather jacket and heavy gloves. The sparks and your pain threshold will usually dictate the minimum you will wear.

It's always a good idea to keep your skin covered due to amount of light being radiated from any kind of weld but if you weld Aluminum for very long with exposed skin you'll find yourself sporting a severe sunburn like burn. You'll not do that again any time soon.

Fumes should always be avoided if possible but most times can't be completely avoided. You can usually get away with a half face mask and a 100 type filter for most types of welding.

Bottom line is welding and fabrication comes with burns, fumes, cuts, and other health hazards. There's a reason this has always been blue collar work and probably always will be. It usually pays above average wages for skilled craftsmen for the same reasons.

Len

When we talk about welding we have:
-heavy, hot and sharp steels/metals
-rotating power pools for cutting/grinding/drilling
-electric power in close proximity
-electric arc hot enough to melt metals
-UVC radiation
-potentially toxic and carcinogenic fumes from core fluxes and hexavalent chrome from stainless steels
- other particulate contamination and fumes

Against all of these things the human condition is weak and requires protection. That means steel capped leather boots, long cotton pants and shirt, leather gloves, welding helmet, ear plugs, safety glasses, and good ventilation or filter system.

Here in Oz these things are legislated that we must have in the workplace. In our home shed, we apparently become bullet proof and don't need these things...

I generally ware just a tee shirt with a denim or heavy cotton long sleeve over it. I have gotten the equivalent of a sun burn through just a tee shirt before. But I keep one of those extra sleeve things with the elastic bands in my hood bag to use if that's not enough. I also have a full set of leathers including chaps in my truck. Right now it's cold enough here out side work means welding in carhart coveralls any way. I have a cartridge respirator for when the ventilation is bad but I don't wear it all the time. I keep a small fan on my truck to suck the fumes away if I need to as well. And we have all the confined space monitors, ventilation, and retraction equipment for those special occasions.

There's somethings I think you should always do:

Always wear eye protection, even under your hood.
Wear ear protection as needed. I need it when MIG welding and for grinding mostly.
Cover up. I am not a believer in not wearing gloves for TIG welding, but some guys roll that way. I always wear some kind of gloves, and my flame retardant jacket when welding regardless of the process. If I am playing with MIG or stick, I make sure I am wearing jeans, a welding cap and work boots too. Got a ball of slag to the top of the foot one when wearing sneakers....just once, and never again.
Keep your head out of the plume. I have great luck using a fan behind me to blow the plume away from my face when stick welding.
Always wear a respirator when grinding or if your head is unavoidably in the plume.

Some great advice here guys. Thanks heaps. My welding course starts in a fortnight and I cant wait.

MickStephens wrote:Some great advice here guys. Thanks heaps. My welding course starts in a fortnight and I cant wait.

I used fortnight in casual conversation the other day, and the other techs looked at me like I had grown a second head lol.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Maybe they thought you were a Texan
They got lots of forts down there.

GreinTime wrote:

MickStephens wrote:Some great advice here guys. Thanks heaps. My welding course starts in a fortnight and I cant wait.

I used fortnight in casual conversation the other day, and the other techs looked at me like I had grown a second head lol.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Haha, old school Aussie slang here.

Fortnight is proper Queen's English, kind of like "albeit", another grossly underused word.

Sadly, I'm guilty of a large vocabulary, and will often use the $2 word when a 50 cent word will do. It often draws blank stares and requires me to explain. This sometimes embarrasses me, as I should know my audience better.

I also use metric measures quite often, and the stares of my friends makes me wonder if they think I'm a drug dealer...



Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:Sadly, I'm guilty of a large vocabulary, and will often use the $2 word when a 50 cent word will do. It often draws blank stares and requires me to explain. This sometimes embarrasses me, as I should know my audience better.

I also use metric measures quite often, and the stares of my friends makes me wonder if they think I'm a drug dealer...



Steve S

As a professional writer, I find the cure for this type of behaviour (...guilty!) is to read Ernest Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea' now and then. Very sparse language, amazing economy of writing. I still regard the man as a genius. Demonstrates very well how to build a world with just a handful of well-chosen words.

Also, never uses 'ur' instead of 'you're'.


Kym

MosquitoMoto wrote:
As a professional writer, I find the cure for this type of behaviour (...guilty!) is to read Ernest Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea' now and then. Very sparse language, amazing economy of writing. I still regard the man as a genius. Demonstrates very well how to build a world with just a handful of well-chosen words.

Also, never uses 'ur' instead of 'you're'.

Kym

I will take that to heart. When I've had to speak in groups, I do use that "economy of language" concept. It's "one-on-one" where I tend to use more syllables than needed, and I've never quite known why. It's not conscious in any way.

When I write, I tend to be concise and avoid words with "too many letters for their meaning", as I would in public speaking.

You've given me some things to think about, and I might just have to read some Hemmingway again...

Steve S

Be very cautious of what is on the materials you weld! Only use denatured alcohol or acetone to clean the metal. Never use brake cleaner or anything else that is chlorinated. Many cutting oils contain chlorinated paraffin compounds. Chlorinated paraffin compounds can react with ultraviolet light and heat to form phosgene gas. This gas is extremely toxic.

hi mick
when welding try to position your face off the the side a bit to avoid the fumes rising up under your mask and wear a proper half-mask and filters if welding galvanised (preferably do this outdoors)
a proper fitting welding jacket is a must as you need to protect the throat area (too large a jacket will leave your throat exposed to the radiation, and too small a jacket wont allow you to button the throat area closed.
gloves need to be inspected frequently for tears and severe burns and replaced often.
metal may appear its normal colour but can still be hot enough to cause a severe burn to bare flesh
shield lenses need to be cleaned frequently and inspected for damage as well.

but your best tool is your brain, keep a weld area clean of all flammable materials, keep your tools in good condition, erect weld screens whenever possible (to protect others who may be in the area)
and remember a good rule of thumb you may be alone when you start a weld but someone may approach and watch.
so before striking an arc speak up clearly and loud (WATCH YOUR EYES)